Standard Lemma guide

oblivious

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australian, Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /əˈblɪviəs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: AH0 B L IH1 V IY0 AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Lacking awareness; unmindful; unaware, unconscious of.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: usually

Examples

  • Your grandmother is completely oblivious to her surroundings.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Forgetful.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: dated, usually, with-of

Qualifier: never with to

Examples

  • He's hopelessly oblivious, always forgetting his appointments.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

failing to keep in mind

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • forgetful of her responsibilities
  • oblivious old age

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: forgetful

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English oblivious, from Latin oblīviōsus (“forgetful, oblivious”), formed from oblīvium (“forgetfulness, oblivion”) + -ōsus (“full of, overly, prone to”), from oblīvīscor (“to forget”).

Across languages

Translations

73 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: inconscient — unaware
  • Catalan: ignorant — unaware
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不自覺 /不自觉 (bùzìjué) — unaware
  • Czech: nevšímavý — unaware
  • Czech: nevědomý — unaware
  • Czech: nesoustředěný — unaware
  • Danish: uvidende — unaware
  • Dutch: onoplettend — unaware
  • Esperanto: nekonscia — unaware
  • Finnish: tietämätön — unaware
  • Finnish: välinpitämätön — unaware
  • French: ignorant — unaware
  • French: inconscient — unaware
  • German: selbstvergessen — unaware
  • German: unaufmerksam — unaware
  • German: nicht bewusst — unaware
  • German: unbedacht — unaware
  • German: unbedarft — unaware
  • Italian: inconsapevole — unaware
  • Italian: ignaro — unaware
  • Japanese: 無自覚 (mujikaku) — unaware
  • Latin: obliviosus — unaware
  • Macedonian: не́свесен (nésvesen) — unaware
  • Māori: mākūare — unaware
  • Polish: nieświadomy — unaware
  • Portuguese: inconsciente — unaware
  • Portuguese: sem noção — unaware
  • Spanish: inconsciente — unaware
  • Spanish: desprevenido — unaware
  • Spanish: ajeno — unaware
  • Spanish: desconocedor — unaware
  • Spanish: no darse cuenta — unaware
  • Spanish: oblivio — unaware
  • Spanish: oblivioso — unaware
  • Spanish: inenterado — unaware
  • Swedish: ovetande — unaware
  • Turkish: dikkatsiz — unaware
  • Turkish: habersiz — unaware
  • Turkish: ilgisiz — unaware
  • Turkish: ihmâlci — unaware
  • Turkish: ihmâlkâr — unaware
  • Turkish: lakayıt — unaware
  • Ukrainian: несвідо́мий (nesvidómyj) — unaware
  • Vietnamese: tỉnh bơ — unaware
  • Bulgarian: забравящ (zabravjašt) — failing to remember
  • Catalan: oblidós — failing to remember
  • Catalan: oblidadís — failing to remember
  • Chinese Mandarin: 健忘 (jiànwàng) — failing to remember
  • Czech: neuvědomující si — failing to remember
  • Dutch: vergeetachtig — failing to remember
  • Esperanto: forgesema — failing to remember
  • Finnish: unohtavainen — failing to remember
  • Finnish: muistamaton — failing to remember
  • French: distrait — failing to remember
  • French: oublieux — failing to remember
  • German: vergesslich — failing to remember
  • Italian: smemorato — failing to remember
  • Latin: obliviosus — failing to remember
  • Macedonian: забо́равен (zabóraven) — failing to remember
  • Macedonian: ра́сеан (rásean) — failing to remember
  • Occitan: oblidós — failing to remember
  • Polish: zapominalski — failing to remember
  • Portuguese: esquecediço — failing to remember
  • Portuguese: esquecidiço — failing to remember
  • Russian: забывчивый (zabyvčivyj) — failing to remember
  • Spanish: olvidadizo — failing to remember
  • Swedish: glömsk — failing to remember
  • Turkish: unutarak — failing to remember
  • Turkish: unutkan — failing to remember
  • Ottoman Turkish: اونوتغان (unutgan) — failing to remember
  • Ukrainian: забу́дькуватий (zabúdʹkuvatyj) — failing to remember
  • Vietnamese: hay quên — failing to remember
  • Vietnamese: lãng quên — failing to remember
Real reading context

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